


Gentle

by cherrysprite



Series: Quarantine Fics [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Boys Kissing, Confusion, Daddy Issues, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Gentleness, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Pre-Relationship, and working through them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23572018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrysprite/pseuds/cherrysprite
Summary: Theo didn't know how to be comforting before. He tries for Liam.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: Quarantine Fics [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1691383
Comments: 11
Kudos: 185





	Gentle

**Author's Note:**

> The formatting on this might be weird because I wrote it on mobile and emailed it to myself so I could edit and post it from my laptop, but enjoy!

Theo generally tries not to pay too much attention to Liam now that they're living in the same house, just to stay out of his way and out of fights, but there are some things about Liam that he's picked up on just from being there. For instance, Theo knows that Liam eats generously, regardless of what's for dinner that night, and he stays up and wakes up late. He doesn't spend much time in his room and he prefers to sprawl out and hog the couch. He's like an invasive parasite that everybody is just used to by now with his invasive behaviors.

So anybody could see that Liam isn't right, hasn't _been_ right in those past couple of days. As much as Theo tries to stay out of Liam's path while they're sharing a house, it's more difficult _not_ to notice how Liam's acting than it is to notice. He's been quiet at mealtimes when he used to talk on and on and pick fights with Theo, and he's been shutting himself up in his room every time he gets home from school, which isn't like him. The house feels empty when Liam isn't on the couch or in the kitchen when Theo walks in, but Liam looks even emptier when Theo manages to run into him. Now, it's even harder than ever.

Theo doesn't like it. He never thought he'd see the day, but he found himself missing how energetic Liam was and wondered where it had gone. He missed the sound of Liam's laugh and he missed having to push his legs off the couch so he could sit down, and it was pissing him off, because Liam had gotten Theo used to those parasitic qualities so he couldn't just rip them away now.

He likes it better when Liam was happy. Theo didn't care and didn't care to think about the implications of that, it was just a fact, and he was going with it. He knows it runs deeper than surface level and isn't just about sharing a house, but it doesn't matter. Something was actually wrong and he wants to know what.

He had been planning on waiting for Liam do the natural thing for him: get overwhelmed, get angry, and accidentally admit it, but one night, Theo couldn't take waiting anymore. He smells the scent of sadness wafting from Liam's room one night after he went to bed much earlier than he normally did, and it's too much for Theo to leave alone any longer. He walks across the hall from his room to Liam's and skips knocking on the door before he comes in.

Liam is sitting on his bed, propped up against a mountain of pillows and blankets as he scrolls through his phone, and his eyes snap up to him in tired annoyance. "What?" He asks, his eyebrows knitting together both in confusion and irritation.

"You've been off for a week and a half and it's pissing me off. What the hell is the matter with you?"

"The hell?" Liam scoffs, sitting up straighter. Theo shuts the door behind him and folds his arms across his chest.

"You're acting different, I'm not stupid. So tell me what the hell is the matter with you so that I don't have to think about it anymore."

Theo admittedly realizes that this wasn't the way to go when Liam choses now to get angry. "Seriously? Fuck off, I don't need this right now, Theo!" Liam shoots at him with a glare, but he seems too tired to be as menacing as he wants to be. There's a hurt in his voice Theo didn't know he had the ability to detect, but it being there in the first place makes him want to try again.

Theo takes a deep breath and sighs as Liam looks at him angrily and expectantly, waiting for him to leave. He realizes and decides then that he needs to take a different approach, but he quickly remembers that he doesn't know how. But he finds it in him to try.

Liam's anger dissipates as Theo comes closer and sits on the bed next to him, obviously having expected Theo not to try. Theo can't blame him. He wasn't really sure why he hadn't just turned around and left in annoyance like Liam had wanted him to, let alone what he was supposed to do how. Regardless, he tries again. He puts on a voice that he's heard from much nicer people, and though it sounds weird and disjointed coming from Theo's mouth, he pushes through it. "Why are you acting so strange?" It's not the kindest way to put it, but it sounds a lot better when his voice isn't quite so sharp.

Liam shuffles around where he's sitting, clearly taken aback and uncomfortable with how Theo is acting, but he comes back to it a second later. "I'm not."

"You are," Theo says, firmly but without bite. "And it's...not good. Something's wrong."

Liam looks down at the blankets in his lap and buries his fingers in the folds of them, fidgeting. He laughs and it sounds more like a scoff than anything else. "Do you care?"

Theo manages not to roll his eyes. _He's here, isn't he?_ "Yes," He says honestly, and he sees Liam's eyes come up from the blankets to his chest, obviously hearing the proof. He swallows and blinks, looking back down again. Theo doesn't expect him to actually say anything. He's planning on how to get out of Liam's room without being a dick about it when Liam finally says something.

Liam shuts his eyes and sighs through his nose. "...My dad is getting remarried. I found out on Monday," Liam admits.

"...Oh," Theo says for lack of better options. He'd never questioned what was up with Liam's biological dad. Liam's mom had full custody of him and his dad was never brought up, so as far as Theo was concerned for awhile, he didn't exist. He hadn't known that Liam's dad was still in contact with him. "Why does that bother you?" He asks, trying to stay gentle.

Liam shrugs, sniffing. "I don't really know," He says. "That's the thing. He wasn't really a great guy when he was with my mom and their marriage really sucked. He lives in Washington State now, but I don't know...I guess it feels weird knowing that he actually moved on since they broke up," Liam explains the best he can. He can't hide the chemosignals drifting off of him; they're sad, but it's more of a mix that reflects just how confused he really is. Theo can't pick it apart. He can't imagine how odd it must feel for Liam. Theo's learned from him that feeling one emotion at a time isn't true, but this is the worst he's seen of it.

Liam is silent for a second, chewing on the inside of his mouth, and Theo picks up the faint scent of blood tinged in the air from his teeth against his cheek. It feels like the time to do something, he thinks, so he does what seems right. He's seen other people do this when their friends are upset, and though he's never done it himself, Liam has grown up well-adjusted and would think it was normal. He slides an arm between Liam's back and the pillows he's resting on, his arm reaching around Liam's back so his hand is resting on Liam's arm. Liam looks at it questioningly, but doesn't say anything.

"He and my mom weren't going to get married until she got pregnant, but they did anyway and they stayed together until I was twelve. Then he just...left," Liam says quietly. He's beginning to get used to Theo's touch and even has his head resting in the area around Theo's shoulder and chest, warm against him. "I hated him for _years_. I don't know why I'm upset that he's moved on from us. I don't want him back."

Theo doesn't want to talk at first, but another thing he's learned helps is doing just that. "...My dad left my mom when I was eight," Theo says after taking a deep breath, and Liam lifts his head up to look at him in surprise. Just like they never talked about Liam's father, Theo's never came up either. Theo can barely remember his childhood anymore what with all of the details of his adolescence, but he tries. He's trying to relate. "We were poor before he left, and we could barely stay afloat after," Theo says. "But he was my dad, even if I didn't want him to be. There's always something about that that makes it feel different." He stops after that. Liam already knows what happened after Theo turned nine. It's a story already written in their past. "You already have a lot to think about," He changes to instead. "It also feels weird because you have bigger things to think about and the concept of something so insignificant makes you feel stupid to worry about. But it's not," Theo says. Liam blinks at him, still in shock, his lips slightly parted as he listens. Theo tries to ignore how odd the words seem coming from him, how soft his voice is, because it's helping. "It's...okay to be confused."

_(God knows Theo is, he's been trying to hide it for months since Liam pulled him out of that hole in the ground.)_

He rubs Liam's arm without thinking about it, looking down at Liam's eyes that search his face desperately. Theo doesn't know what he's trying to find. He doesn't have to wonder for long. Liam kisses him anyway.

Theo is too surprised by it to feel anything at first, but he doesn't mean to stiffen up the way he did either way. Liam pulls back with a sigh, but he's so out of it that he doesn't push Theo away or take off like he normally would. Instead, he rests his head back on Theo's chest in exhaustion, done with the world, and breathes. "I'm sorry," He sighs, shutting his eyes. _Disappointment_. Not a hint of anger in him.

Before he knows what he's doing, Theo shakes his head slowly, and Liam must feel it, because he pulls away again to look up at him. "It's...okay," He trails. A tiny shimmer of hope in Liam's eye comes across and he glances down to Theo's lips, his heart suddenly beating so much faster than Theo's ever heard it. He kisses him hesitantly, and this time, Theo doesn't freeze. He moves his lips against Liam's in a way that spreads shockwaves down his spine and butterflies into Theo's stomach, gentle, _gentle_. It's not too overwhelming for either of them; not for Liam, who is already working through complicated feelings, and not for Theo, who has never been kissed in a way that meant something before. (Whatever this meant.)

Liam goes right back to resting against him when they stop, nuzzling into the crook of Theo's neck instead. Theo has no idea what the hell he just did or what just happened, but strangely enough, he isn't complaining at all. Liam is calm. The sadness is still there, but for whatever reason Liam kissed him, it leveled him out some. "You're actually really good at comforting someone," Liam mumbles, his hands finding the sleeve of Theo's hoodie and playing with it. "Or maybe just me."

They're half laid down already, so it doesn't take long for Liam to start dozing off. Theo doesn't know what he feels for Liam yet, but he's going to think hard about it, he decides then as Liam finds comfort in him, physically this time. As out of his comfort zone this was, Theo...likes it. He thinks he'd like to help more sometime. Try and figure out what they're feeling for each other and feeling otherwise.

"I'll keep that in mind," He says before Liam drops off entirely. He only knows Liam hears him when he squeezes him a little tighter and breathes him in a little deeper. _He'll definitely think about this._

They fall asleep with their shoes still on. For now, it's quiet.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> This is loosely (emphasis on loosely) based off a scene from Jane the Virgin with Jane and Rafael where Jane and Rafael finally talk something out. It was a sweet scene between them and I wanted some of that here. This was completely self-indulgent hurt/comfort, and also a challenge to myself to see if I could get Theo to stay in character while also letting him be soft. Let me know how I did on that :)
> 
> Here's to quarantine fic number six. I hope everyone is at home safe. If you're an essential worker out there in these days, please know that I love you and support you. Thank you for what you're doing, I can't imagine how hard it is.
> 
> tumblr: grenadinepeach


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